Mark 1:12-13 - At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
It is assumed that Jesus was aware of his mission long
before his ministry officially began.
However, with his baptism, his anointing by the Holy Spirit, and the verbal
announcement of God the Father from the heavens, this mission has not been made
public. His public ministry is about to begin. So what does Jesus do? He withdraws into the dessert for forty days.
It should be mentioned that 40 is a very significant number
in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
It is mentioned nearly 150 times.
This number is usually associated with a time of testing, trial, and/or
preparation. Moses spent 40 days on Mount
Sinai on two separate occasions. Elijah
fasted 40 days. Jonah warned Nineveh for
40 days. The Hebrews spent 40 years in
the wilderness. Noah’s flooding rains lasted 40 days and nights. The list goes on and on. On purpose, Jesus evokes this “holy” number
with the time he spent in the desert to begin his ministry.
The time in the desert IS ministry. It is not what happens BEFORE ministry. It IS ministry. Purposeful time alone IS ministry. Being sent somewhere by the Spirit IS
ministry. Addressing temptations IS
ministry. Being attended to by God IS
ministry. What Jesus does in the desert
makes what he does after more effective and focused.
We all a ministry/service to which we are called. My question for all of us is this: does our
ministry/service include the elements of spiritual direction, intentional
solitude, addressing personal temptation, and submitting ourselves to God’s care
a part of our service or are those things attended to “if we have time?” Stephen Covey called these kinds of
activities the habit of “sharpening the saw.” Using a saw with a dull blade
takes exponentially more time to cut than one that has been sharpened. The time spent sharpening the blade is way
more than made up for by the shortened time it takes to cut. Jesus’s service is “sharpened” by His time in
the desert. If Jesus needed to do that,
how much more do we? That takes me back
to today essential question.
Question: Does our
ministry/service include the elements of spiritual direction, intentional
solitude, addressing personal temptation, and submitting ourselves to God’s care
a part of our service or are those things attended to “if we have time?”
Prayer: Master Jesus,
help us not to be so preoccupied with constant activity that we forget the
activities/disciplines that drive our most effective service and remind us that
our service is always to You. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Spend
some time actively seeking God’s guidance on a specific issue in your life
right now.
Song: Take Time to Be
Holy – David & Steven Au
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